Byron Stripling joins SJO for Armstrong tribute

Except for Satchmo himself, it would be hard to find a better guest artist than Byron Stripling for the Spokane Jazz Orchestra’s “Tribute to Louis Armstrong.”

Besides being a world-class trumpeter with the Count Basie Orchestra, Stripling is also an Armstrong devotee. He was chosen after an extensive search to star in “Satchmo,” a Broadway-bound musical about the jazz legend.

Those credentials suit him perfectly to handle the string of Armstrong tunes which will make up the second half of this concert, the finale of the SJO’s season.

Stripling and the 17-piece orchestra, under the direction of Dan Keberle, also will play hits connected with other New Orleans pioneers in the first half of the show.

Stripling is familiar to PBS viewers as a frequent soloist with the Boston Pops, under the baton of Keith Lockhart and John Williams.

He is the artistic director of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, and lives in Ohio when he isn’t traveling the country playing concerts and giving workshops and master classes.